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I think this discussion is just over a (mis?)management of expectations. As this is a community of fantasy fans we all of our preconceived assumptions of certain races and what they look like. We have images of gnomes, halflings and dwarves already in our heads. So when they tell us to expect a Polynesian-esque dwarf subrace we all immediately build our own expectations. When they reveal the final product looking more like a "halfling/gnome" or anything we were not expecting then we have discussions like this. In my case it was the one race I was most excited for and it didn't meet my expectations so it's a bummer but I do see why they made the decision and I respect that. There will probably be other people who play as a Nikua now who wouldn't if it looked like the picture in this thread. It is what it is. I'll just find a different one to be most excited about lol.
As a heads-up, what was shared during the January 2022 Livestream isn't the "final product." It's still a work in progress.
We're certainly open to commentary and feedback. We'll make changes as needed, just like we did with the Dünir based on player feedback we received during Alpha One.